If anyone at the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival was doubting winter’s impending arrival, they were jolted to reality Saturday by frosty temperatures and piercing winds that made for some of the chilliest November weather in recent memory.

The cold almost scared off Craig Brackmann, who trekked in from northwest suburban Marengo with his wife and daughters, ages 4 and 2. They arrived early in the day and planned to stay for the evening parade.

"I think on Tuesday or Wednesday we said we weren't going to come," said Brackmann, who brought along snow pants for his daughters. "But when we started seeing the commercials, we decided we'd bring them."

High temperatures weren’t expected to reach past the upper 20s on either day of the weekend, and wind chills Saturday afternoon pushed the temperatures down into the single digits. If the forecast holds true, Saturday and Sunday will become Chicago’s coldest consecutive days this early in the season since 2000.

"This is more January-like," said National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Mott. "It's not real common."

Among the droves that arrived hours before the parade to watch a children's concert, grab lunch or advise Santa about what to leave under the tree next month, most seemed prepared for the cold.

In line with their mother waiting to see Santa, the faces of David and Marissa Santoyo, of southwest suburban Chicago Ridge, were barely visible beneath layers of thermal clothing. David, 10, wore a hooded sweatshirt, a winter coat and a scarf to keep warm until it was his turn to ask Santa for a PlayStation 4.

Nearby, Meousha Spraggins, from south suburban Homewood, and her family had also arrived several hours in advance of the parade. Spraggins said her 4-year-old daughter had been looking forward to seeing Mickey and Minnie Mouse on Michigan Avenue.

"I said 'It's cold outside, did you want to go?' and she said, 'Yes, Mom,' " Spraggins said.

Later, Steve Eifrid’s two daughters, ages 4 and 3, perked up as the first floats of the parade meandered toward the Chicago family’s perch near Illinois Street and Michigan Avenue.

“They’re forgetting about the cold,” said Eifrid, 32. His daughters, bundled in snow pants gloves and a hooded jacket, waved with gloved hands at the passing floats.

“They’re ready for sledding, not parade watching,” Eifrid said.

By noon, more than five hours before the parade would step off, a handful of revelers were already unfurling blankets and setting up lawn chairs behind the metal barriers lining the sidewalk.

Mikell Drobac staked out prime viewing real estate near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Illinois Street. Drobac said she was part of a group of about 20 from Hobart, Ind., that rides the South Shore Line in each year for the parade.

Did the weather cause Drobac to think twice about coming – or at least about coming so early? Nope. "Just dress warm," she said.